ITU World Championship Series Resumes in Madrid
Paula Findlay to race Sunday, the Men go on Saturday.
This weekend is the second round of the 2011Â Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series and as expected in a pre-Olympic year both men’s and women’s start lines are stacked with ITU stars.
In the men’s field, the battle between Javier Gomez (ESP) and Alistair Brownlee (GBR) that almost materialized in Sydney is surely set to happen here, as series leader Gomez aims for his first Dextro Energy Triathlon Series win in Spain while Brownlee targets his third consecutive Madrid title.
In the women’s field, series leader Paula Findlay (CAN) will wear the number one for the first time, and deservedly so after winning three of her last four Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series races she’s contested. But there are a number of contenders who could knock either Gomez or Findlay off the top of the podium in Madrid.
SCHEDULE:
Elite men start – Saturday 4 June – 10:00 (UTC/GMT + 2)
Elite women start – Sunday 5 June – 14:30 (UTC/GMT + 2)
START LISTS:
Click here for women’s start list
Click here for men’s start list
LIVE COVERAGE:
Live video coverage from Sydney will be available on race day at triathlonlive.tv
Or follow @triathlonlive on Twitter for text updates on race day.
COURSE PROFILE:
Swim – Two-lap, 1.5km swim with a pontoon start into the Casa de Campo lake, wetsuits are not expected.
Bike – Four-lap, 40km bike around the Casa de Campo park featuring a 12% grade climb on each lap. Once summiting the 400m climb, the rest of each bike lap is mostly downhill.
Run – Four-lap, 10km run is also around the park, mostly flat and finishes back at the lake.
STORIES TO WATCH FOR:
Javier Gomez vs Alistair Brownlee – The 2011 season could very well come down to a Javier Gomez and Alistair Brownlee affair and perhaps it would have been exactly that in Sydney if the Brit hadn’t slipped in the run on a rain-slicked Sydney course. Instead, it was younger brother Jonathan Brownlee that ran into second behind the Spanish champ. But Gomez and Alistair Brownlee both have history in Madrid. Gomez hasn’t won a Dextro Energy Triathlon Series round here yet and Brownlee has won the last two years. Gomez’s form in Sydney was incredible though, after a crash on the bike he rode 10km by himself and then put in a blistering run split to catch, then overtake the pack to win by 20 seconds. Don’t forget about the younger Brownlee though, the silver in Sydney was his second Dextro Energy Triathlon Series medal and he could be on track for an even better senior year that his break through one in 2010.
The chance to make amends – It’s not often the Aussie Emmas enter a Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series race and don’t make the podium but Beijing 2008 gold medallist Emma Snowsill and reigning ITU World Champion Emma Moffatt failed to reach it at home in Sydney. Snowsill had a rough swim leg and was out of contention from the start, while Moffatt faded to finish 13th. It’s the first time both are contesting the Madrid leg of the Dextro Energy Triathlon Series race, but if they are at their best, will be hard to beat. In the men’s, it will be men’s 2008 Olympic champion Jan Frodeno (GER) and last year’s series bronze medallist Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) looking for a new start to 2011. In Sydney, Frodeno turned with the leaders into T2 but ended-up finishing 45th, while Kahlefeldt did not finish.
PREVIOUS MADRID WINNERS:
2010 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Madrid
Nicola Spirig (SUI), Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Madrid
Andrea Hewitt (NZL), Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
2008 Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup
Vanessa Fernandes (POR), Javier Gomez (ESP)
2007 Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup
Vanessa Fernandes (POR), Filip Ospaly (CZE)
2006 Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup
Vanessa Fernandes (POR), Javier Gomez (ESP)
2005 Madrid ITU Triathlon World Cup
Vanessa Fernandes (POR), Tim Don (GBR)
2004 Madrid ITU Triathlon World Cup
Vanessa Fernandes (POR), Frederic Belaubre (FRA)
2003 Madrid ITU Triathlon World Cup
Vanessa Fernandes (POR), Hunter Kemper (USA)